Reports - Overstock Fees & Aged Inventory

This tool is currently for North American and EU marketplaces only.


(WARNING: If you create a removal order and remove inventory from Amazon FBA to avoid overstock fees, Amazon may deem that particular product ineligible for FBA for three (3) months. So only remove inventory if you plan to not sell it on Amazon again within three months)

UK and EU Overstock Fees:

EU aged inventory fees do not kick in for 270 days, instead of 180 days in North America. So your EU reports will look different than NA reports due to Amazon's EU aged inventory policies. Please see the EU video below for more details and refer to this policy from Amazon.

OVERVIEW:

Anyone who has sold on Amazon knows they charge many fees to sellers, from FBA fulfillment fees to monthly storage fees and now Aged Inventory surcharged fees, formerly known as Long-Term Storage fees (LTS). To view Amazon’s policies on fees, watch this video and start here. PLEASE STUDY AND UNDERSTAND AMAZON'S POLICIES ON AGED INVENTORY SURCHARGES HERE.


If you see that Amazon is charging you fees at a rate different from what your product package dimensions indicate, you should watch this video to learn how to fix that.


Also, download SoStocked's in-depth Fees Stack white paper, which breaks down the Amazon fees, which can otherwise seem confusing. Storage fees are silent profit killers. Amazon raises fees each year. Amazon added new fees in 2022. These new fees stack on top of previous fees. All storage fees are charged per cubic foot on the 15th of each month. So it's best to run this Overstock Fees report on the 16th of each month for the following month. This gives you time to take action before you are charged!


FEES OVERVIEW

Amazon now charges two main storage fees. Monthly Storage Fees, and Aged Inventory surcharged fees, formerly known as Long-Term Storage fees (LTS)


Monthly Storage Fees:

You pay this every month on inventory at FBA.

In Q4, you pay a higher rate.

Every FBA seller pays these no matter what; they are unavoidable.

Anything older than 90 days is something that we at SoStocked consider to be “overstock”. You are not charged at a higher rate, but it's best practice to try to keep less than 90 days of supply at Amazon.


Aged Inventory Surcharge, Formerly Long Term Storage (LTS)

Aged Inventory was introduced in 2022 and has increased sigificantly since then.

Aged Inventory makes you pay on any inventory that’s been at Amazon longer than 180 days. And these fees increase again at 9 months.

These are stacked ON TOP OF the Monthly Storage.


OVERSTOCK FEES DASHBOARD

The SoStocked Overstock Fees Dashboard can be found on your inventory page in your SoStocked account. You can also link to a version of this dashboard from your Command Center, where it says "REDUCE OVERSTOCK".

The cubic feet per product are formula-based calculations. We use the unit package dimensions per ASIN from Amazon's API report to calculate the cubic feet per unit. We then take the cu. ft. per unit times the total units you have in stock to determine the total cu. ft. for all inventory at FBA per product. Amazon gives us aged inventory reports that we use to determine how and when this inventory will be charged monthly storage fees, overstock fees, and aged inventory fees.


These projected fees are then calculated based on projected sales data from your SoStocked Forecast page. These are NOT merely calculated from your static "Adjusted Velocity" number, as your velocity may change due to your pre-programmed seasonal spikes, lightning deals, etc.


Based on the settings on your forecast, SoStocked will subtract projected sales (units) from your total current inventory to estimate how quickly you will sell through this inventory, and if/when you will pay storage fees. These fees are then displayed per product on the Overstock Fees Dashboard. If you hover over any product on the dashboard, you will see a pop-up with a monthly breakdown of projected fees, based on your inventory at FBA, minus projected sales moving forward.

These columns are calculated based on sever factors:

  • Your Timeline (current forecast)
  • Amazon Reports (Aged Inventory - pulled daily)
  • Amazon’s fees policies (how they calculate)

All storage fees are deducted from your Amazon sales on the 15th of each month and include the following:

  • Monthly storage
  • Aged inventory (if applicable)

HOW TO USE THE COLUMNS

  • Hover over each column's title to reveal the explanation and description of the column.
  • Each column is a calculation based on Amazon's fee policies and also your forecast from SoStocked.
  • Ensure your forecast settings are set up correctly based on your order schedule, transfer schedule, and other calculation variables.
  • Include seasonality, stockout days, and any other forecasting tool that could affect your inventory timeline.
  • If you have inventory that is inbound to FBA, you will want to input these Purchase Orders or Work Orders in your forecast.
  • Review this tutorial if you need help with setting up your forecast.
  • Your first focus should be on the Upcoming Aged Fees column, which shows if you are about to pay fees within the next month. Do something about these first!

  • Next, focus on the large red column called, Total Overstock Fees to reveal the calculated fees you will pay on top of your monthly storage fees, projected out for the year. These are the fees you want to focus on, as you can usually reduce or eliminate them and save lots of wasted money!

WHAT TO DO AFTER STUDYING THE COLUMNS:

If you see that you have projected overstock fees that can be prevented, here are a few tips to prevent exorbitant fees:

  • Increase the Sell-Thru rate by running ads, lowering prices, etc.
  • Removal/Disposal/Liquidation for dud products that cannot be sold.

TROUBLESHOOTING

If your Overstock Fees report looks off, it's likely due to incorrect item package dimensions in SoStocked. Fees are calculated from your item package dimensions converted into cubic feet. If the dimensions are wrong, then the cubic feet will be wrong, and of course, the future fees will be wrong. Here is a video on updating your item package dimensions in SoStocked.


Instructions for how to check for monthly Aged Inventory Surcharges:

Log into your Seller Central Account

  1. From the menu dropdown, select "Inventory" and then "Inventory Planning."
  2. Scroll down and click on "Aged inventory summary" at the bottom left.
  3. You will be redirected to a list of your ASINs in the FBA Inventory dashboard.
  4. Scroll to the right, and you will see a column titled "Estimated aged inventory surcharge."
  5. If you have any estimated surcharges, they will appear here.

NOTE: These amounts will not be an exact match as we are reducing the aged inventory by the projected velocity per the SoStocked timeline. Most likely, our projections will be a little lower than Amazon's in Seller Central, but that is because ours will be more accurate to your projected sales and to how much inventory is left at FBA when the charges are actually to take place. 


6. If none of that works, please send us the following two reports from the seller via their Seller Central account so we can compare data. 


Instructions to Fee Preview Report:

  1. Navigate to the Reports section.
  2. Click “Fulfillment.”
  3. Scroll down and to the “Payment” section on the left panel.
  4. Click “Fee Preview.”
  5. Click “Request .csv Download.”
  6. Wait for the report to finish processing, then click “Download.”
  7. Download the report to your computer.

Instructions to Aged Inventory Surcharge Report:

  1. Navigate to the Reports section.
  2. Click “Fulfillment.”
  3. Scroll down and to the “Payment” section on the left panel.
  4. Click “Aged Inventory Surcharge report.”
  5. Click “Request .csv Download” for the current month.
  6. Wait for the report to finish processing, then click “Download.”
  7. Download the report to your computer.


If you need additional help, please contact us at [email protected]

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